Lost
by Heythis1workes
Summary: Beth Greene, daughter of the town's favorite preacher, Hershel Greene is inclined to marry the Governor. Will she obediently marry him or will she run away to find out what she really want?
1. Chapter 1

***AN* This is my VERY FIRST FANFIC and it's totally AU it's going to go into some smutty Bethyl in time, but right now I just want a feel for what you guys thins and whether I should pursue this story. I hope you guys like it and I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar errors! I wrote this pretty quickly since it just came to my mind. I hope you guys like it and I plan to update real soon if this gets enough love. Until then! XXX**

Beth awoke to her sister Maggie banging on the door.

"Bethy! Wake up, come on it's almost 8 and it's your birthday. You can't spend all day in bed!"

Beth groaned hoping to let her sister know that she was partially awake. It was her damn birthday she should at least be able to sleep in until 10 a.m. without interruption.  
Beth sighed and dug her face into the pillow replying, "I'll be out in minute."  
"Good, because we have pancakes and bacon and something else waiting for you downstairs," Maggie replied excitedly.  
At the mention of bacon, Beth shot right out of bed, but Beth was apprehensive. If her past birthday surprises had any correlation with today she knew that a 'surprise' was exactly what she didn't want on the morning of her 18th birthday.  
On her 16th birthday instead of a car, she got a pet horse. Although Beth loved her baby Nayelli she couldn't exactly ride her to school and she wasn't exactly the Mustang GT she asked for.  
On her 17th birthday instead of a car to account for her 16th birthday disaster she got a guitar. But she did love that guitar, she would spend every morning annoying the living hell out of anybody who was willing to listen to her play and sing. It was only until after a couple of hours that the Greene's regretted their decision to buy her an instrument and wished they bought her a car instead. It wasn't her singing that was the problem, though. If you asked anybody in town who had the best voice, there would be no competition. Beth had the voice of an angel, but when it came to playing an actual instrument she was the least favorable in town. But that didn't stop Beth from trying.

The Greene family was busy trying to make today a magical day for Beth's 18th birthday. They had a special family breakfast planned but what everyone except Beth knew was that today was the day that the Governor planned to propose to freshly legal farmer's daughter.

The Governor was a special man who had control over the entire town that the Greene family lived in. He would come over on occasion to associate himself with Hershel who was a beloved and respected member of the community but they all knew he fancied Beth a great deal. The Governor was not a bad man. He wanted to make the town into something the whole community could be proud of even though not many agreed with his political stand point. One of the many problems with the Governor was, whilst although trying to better the town, he was also trying to find a wife. That was why he moved her to Georgia, was to make a fresh start and find a new family. In the Governor's mind Beth Greene was the perfect candidate for what he thought would make the perfect Mrs. Governor. She was almost of age and he needed somebody young, yet highly born in order to bear the family he had in mind. The Governor tried to display his feelings to the young Greene child, but she never responded enthusiastically which the Governor took as her being naïve and misunderstanding of the situation but on this special morning the Governor knew that the youngest Greene daughter was to be newly engaged to the most eligible bachelor in town, himself.

Beth quickly hopped out of bed, hoping that today would be perfect. I mean, come on, she was finally 18 years old. She was finally old enough to make her own decisions, she was finally old enough to properly date and she could even be married if God was merciful enough to allow such a thing at such a young age. Maggie was only a couple years older than Beth but she knew that Maggie had a hard time trying to find an eligible man to marry. Beth was by far the most eligible bachelorette but the problem was Beth couldn't find anyone that could please her. She tried dating, she tried to hide her true self in order to find an ideal husband but she couldn't help that every guy in town, in her opinion, was even more dumb than the last guy. She wanted somebody who made her think unconventionally but was also down to earth enough to make her think she wasn't smarter than anyone else. Was it really that much to ask for? Apparently so. When Maggie would sneak into her room in the middle of the night, the sisters would share secrets; Beth would complain that there was no man on earth that fit her description, least of all someone who was at least idealistic. During one of the sister's secret meetings one night, Maggie complained to Beth about her feeling of apprehension towards her current boyfriend, Glenn, because he wasn't as bold as the men the Greene women were used to, but Beth would reinsure her worrisome sister that Glenn was just waiting for the right moment to make his move. Beth couldn't have been more right, because the next weekend Glenn proposed and Maggie was off to New York to make her new life with Glenn and Beth couldn't have been more excited and proud for her older sister. Beth missed Maggie and their secret meetings in the middle of the night, until the moment she knocked on her door on her birthday because she woke up grumpy and wanting more sleep. Yawning and stretching upon the awakening of her birthday, the engagement of her sister and her favorite soon to be brother-in-law was what popped into her mind while she slipped on the new dress her father bought her for this special day. When he showed her the dress he had specially made for her birthday she almost screamed, but being the daughter of such a high-ranking man she knew better than to show her emotion and thanked her father cordially. This morning was different, because once she saw how perfectly the dress fit she couldn't help but let out a little yelp of excitement. Beth knew today was going to be perfect.

Sitting down at breakfast, Beth couldn't help the smile that played at her lips while Maggie served her father and then Beth an abundance of pancakes and eggs and bacon. Beth was searching all around wondering what her birthday surprise would be. Beth let out a little yelp of excitement when Glenn came through the kitchen door, thinking he wouldn't make it to their little Georgian home for her birthday because he was so busy in New York, Beth thought this was her surprise, but upon seeing the smirk on her father and sister's face she knew that this wasn't all she had store for the day. She nodded to Glen and said, "Glenn, I'm so happy you were able to make down here for my birthday!"  
"Like Maggie would have missed it, besides, how could we miss such a special occasion?" replied Glenn.  
Beth smiled at Glenn's but was quickly distracted since there was a knock on the door.  
Hershel quickly rose from his seat at the head of the table as if he was expecting the disturbance and muttered that he would be right back.  
Beth heard her father's silent grumbles and began to eat her pancakes along with Maggie and Glenn who seemed to be having a silent conversation which Beth ignored.  
When the her father entered the room accompanied by the Governor, Beth couldn't help but think, What the hell is he doing here?  
Beth knew her family loved the guy and she was pretty sure he tried to come onto her a few times, but she decided to ignore it because they were just casual comments and her family really seemed to respect the guy, but he just gave her the creeps.

The Governor quickly locked eyes with Beth and walked leisurely over to her side. Beth quickly swallowed her mouthful of pancakes and stood up and gave him a bow. He wished her a happy birthday, which she happily accepted and tried to properly thank him for stopping by on such a special occasion but before she could mutter a thank you, he reached for her hand. The whole room was quiet and watching. The Governor then said, "Beth, today is the day we as a community acknowledge you as a woman. I would personally like to bestow upon you my congratulations of your birthday but also of your womanhood. I'm sure you have known for a while that I have had my eye on you and find you a redeemable woman in both beauty and brains, so without further ado," the Governor dropped to one knee and grasped both her hands and squeezed them gently, "on this special day I would like to cordially ask you, Beth Greene, for your hand in marriage."  
Beth was in shock, she didn't know what to do or say. She wasn't expecting this. She would have loved a new pony or guitar, she would have begged for it at this moment, instead of having to deal with this situation. Beth quickly looked to her father and sister who smiled and nodded as if expecting her to say yes to a man she barely knew, and secretly hated, but in this moment Beth was frozen.  
All she said was, "I'm sorry, but I can't," and she bolted through the kitchen door and out into the Georgian woods.


	2. Chapter 2

***AN* First of all I want to thank Sharahw, Saya21 and DarylDixon'sLover for leaving a review and everyone who took time to read my last chapter!  
I'm glad you liked it. I don't really like this chapter because I'm not sure of the direction I want to take this story. I know this is a really short chapter but I really wanted to post something for you guys since it got some love and I want to make my readers happy! I'm not sure where I want this story to go yet and I'm working on mapping it out so that I'll be able to post more chapters soon! Once I know where the story is going I'll be posting more frequently so bear with me please! I don't want to make the Governor a bad guy in this story because I don't want too much drama and really want to focus on the whole romance part but I would love to hear what you guys think and maybe some recommendations of where you would like this story to go. I aim to please my readers! SO without further ado..CHAPTER 2! XX**

Chapter 2

Beth ran as fast as she could through the thick woods hoping that if she ran far enough she would forget about what just happened. Did the Governor really just propose? She barely even knew the man! How could she possibly even consider marrying him? And her family was in on it! How could they think that she would actually say yes? Beth tried to outrun her problems and sprinted as fast as she could into the ever-thickening woods ahead. She didn't know how long she had been running. Her lungs were on fire and her legs felt like jelly but she refused to stop. She had to get as far away as she could. Beth ran farther than she had ever run before, her anger and confusion fueling her body to run farther and farther away. She didn't recognize where she was but she didn't care. She was thinking she would have to stop soon when she suddenly tripped and fell. She hit her head on something hard and yelped.

I guess now was good time as any to stop.

"Ahh," Beth yelled when she attempted to get up and the world was spinning. On top of all that she realized her ankle was twisted too. "This is the best birthday ever," she muttered sarcastically. She was a little disoriented but she saw that there was a creek nearby and she slowly and painfully limped to the edge to sit down. She slipped off her shoes and soaked her swollen ankle in the cool water. The water was uncomfortably cold but it felt good on her ankle and made the throbbing lessen. Sitting on the edge of the creek she temporarily forgot about the incident that just occurred and enjoyed the refreshing water and the nature all around her while trying to get her world back in focus. She must have hit her head really hard. It was throbbing pretty badly but there was no sign of blood so she decided to relax at the creek until she felt well enough to head back home. While sitting up against a tree with her feet soaking in the water and taking in the fresh smells of the woods Beth lost consciousness.

Hershel was starting to get worried about his youngest daughter. It wasn't uncommon for Beth to run into the woods when she was upset about something and to be honest he wasn't surprised that that was exactly what she did after the Governor's proposal. Anytime Beth had a bad fight with Maggie or her father she would run into the woods and try to get a grip on reality. The woods always seemed to calm her down and help her think rationally. She would usually be gone for a couple of hours but then she always came back home in such a great mood and would try to make things right with whomever she had a fight with. Hershel expected Beth to be back any moment. He knew that she was just in shock and she knew that when she came back she would accept the Governor's offer. The Governor was a perfect match for Beth. The whole town anticipated their engagement. He was handsome, rich, kind and would be able to take really good care of her. She was the young farmer's daughter with the beauty few could compare to, obviously the Governor had his eye on her.

Hershel, Maggie, Glenn and the Governor were sitting in the living room making idle chitchat and anxiously waiting for Beth to come back. It wasn't until the sun started setting that Maggie finally voiced her concern, "Daddy, do you think we should go look for her? I don't think she should be out there when it's dark."  
Hershel sighed then replied, "I guess you're right Maggie. Will you call Sherriff Grimes and see if he can put together a search party for us? I probably should have called him hours ago but I expected her to be back by now."  
Maggie nodded and headed to the kitchen with Glenn to make the call.  
Hershel then turned to the Governor, "We'll find her soon, don't worry. If I know my Bethy she was just a little overwhelmed at such a grand gesture."  
"I sure hope so Hershel, I would love nothing more than to marry your daughter. I would make her a happy woman and give her a comfortable life," replied the Governor. The men shared a smile when Maggie and Glenn walked back into the room.  
"Sherriff Grimes said that they won't be able to conduct a search until the morning. They can't do much looking or finding in the dark. He said he and his team will start searching at dawn," Maggie said anxiously. "Do you think she'll be okay out there alone in the dark?"  
Hershel sighed, "Well my dear, there isn't much we can do now but pray she is safe and wait until morning."

***Sorry it's so short dear readers! I'm working on Chapter 3 right now so ****I will make sure the next chapter is at least 1500 words to make up for this one! Until next time! XX***


	3. Chapter 3

***AN* Hey guys! So shoutout once again to DarylDixon'sLover, Sharahw and Saya21 for their super nice reviews! Thank you!  
I just want to clear up a few things that I didn't really put into the story. I'm not sure what the time period is for this because I have modern aspects and old fashioned ones as well so you can take your pick at what time period you want it to be unless I have reason to commit to a specific time period to move the story along. If there's any confusion on any aspect of this story please don't hesitate to tell me! This is my first fic so I want to fix and be aware of any issues that are in this story! I want it to be perfect for you guys!  
Okay so here is the third chapter! I like it so much better than the second one and feel like I might have an idea where this story might be going! So yay! Anyway here is Chapter 3! XX***

Beth awoke sopping wet in pure darkness. What the heck just happened? The last thing she remembered was soaking her ankle in the creek and now she lying in the freezing cold creek. She seemed to be moving as well and not in the direction of the rapid current. Something was moving her limp body towards the edge.  
That's when Beth felt warm, strong arms wrapped around her waist hauling her to the edge of the creek. She heard the heavy breathing and grunting of her rescuer as they dragged her onto the dry ground. Beth could barely see the outline of a figure in the darkness but it was definitely male. He attempted to shake her awake not knowing that she already was. Beth couldn't move. She was in complete shock. She didn't know what was going on. Who was this stranger and why was she in the need of a rescue in the first place?

"Come on, wake up" said the gruff voice of this stranger as he began to start pushing on her chest, beginning CPR. He pushed down so hard that Beth finally broke out of her daze of confusion and sat up.  
"What the heck are you doing?" Beth screamed at him.  
"I'm tryna save yer life! You were lyin in the creek! Thought you was dead! What the hell were ya thinkin wanderin this far into the woods?," The man practically screamed at her. Beth noticed how thick his southern accent was and wondered just who this mystery man was  
"I don't know what's goin on! I was running and I tripped… I think. I honestly can't remember what happened." Beth tried to explain but she knew she was just confusing him because she didn't even know what she was saying. She sighed in frustration.

"Alright calm down. What's the last thing ya remember?" He asked.  
"The last thing I remember is that I was laying against a tree with my feet in the creek I think that was this morning but I can't remember why or how I got there. Oh my gosh, I can't remember anything!" Beth exclaimed. She kept trying to remember but she just couldn't remember anything before tripping.  
"Didya say ya hit yer head?" the man asked and Beth nodded.

The man sighed and said, "Alright come on," the man rose to his feet and offered his hand to help her up.  
"Where are we going?" Beth asked simply.  
"We gotta get ya in some dry clothes and get ya fixed up, unless ya wanna stay here and freeze ter death." He stated wryly.  
She reached for his hand and once she was on her feet he quickly let go of her hand and started to lead the way back towards the thick woods.  
Beth winced when she put weight on her bad ankle but she didn't want to be left alone in the dark and she limped after him. Her head was aching as she struggled to catch up but she was already feeling dizzy and she had only walked a couple feet. The man turned around to see why she wasn't following him and realized she wasn't going to make it ten feet without passing out. He walked back over to her and bent down saying, "Hop on I don't got all night,"  
"I'm fine I can walk I don't need any help," Beth replied.

"I'm not askin. If ya take one more step yer probably gonna pass out and I don't want to drag yer dead weight twice in one night," He retorted.  
"You serious?" Beth asked.  
"Yes, it's a serious piggyback. Now get on."  
Beth hopped onto his back and he grunted as he repositioned her, "Damn yer a lot heavier than ya look."  
Beth chose to ignore his last comment as they walked in silence through the forest.  
They had been walking for about 10 minutes when Beth saw a clearing ahead. It was still pretty dark but she could tell it was almost dawn and the sun would be rising soon. She must have been out for a while. They walked into the clearing and Beth was confused. She expected there to be a camp or something because it seemed that this was their destination. It wasn't until the man carried her towards what she thought was a thick part of the woods that she saw the small house. House was a generous word. It looked more like a couple shacks squished together. The sun was beginning to rise as he put her down and carefully led her inside. She had to admit it looked a lot bigger on the inside then it did on the outside. There was a living room and a kitchen and a small hallway that must lead to the bedroom. He led her to the very worn looking couch and she plopped down on it exhausted. Who knew that being given a piggyback ride could be so tiring? He muttered that he'd be right back and disappeared down the hallway. The light from the sunrise was illuminating the shack giving Beth a better glimpse of just how run down the place was but in a strange way it was really cozy. There was a fireplace that seemed to be put to good use, which explained the smoky smell that seemed to fill the shack. Next to the fireplace was a bulky armchair that looked like it was often slept in. There was a shelf filled with hunting traps and weapons that gave Beth the shivers. And in the corner there was bookcase filled with familiar titles. Beth was about to get up to go examine the bookshelf a little more thoroughly when the man reappeared. He had a first aid kit in one hand and some fresh clothes in the other. He kneeled by her side while she tried to stifle a yawn.  
"Do ya mind if I fix ya up real quick? Ya can change and rest after." He asked quietly. Beth shook her head and gestured for him to go ahead. As he started to clean her cuts she got her first real look at him.  
He was handsome in that dirty kind of rugged way if that's what you found attractive. He looked like he could use a shave and shower and he wore a heavy flannel and ripped jeans that were covered in dirt and mud. Beth wrinkled her nose at the lack of cleanliness. She sat perfectly still as he leaned in to check her head but when she smelled the fresh woodsy scent that lingered on his skin Beth never thought she smelled anything more wonderful. Beth couldn't help but take in a deeper breath. She was pulled out of her daze when he touched the sensitive part of her head that she must of hit and she winced. He sighed and said, "That explains it. It looks like ya hit yer head pretty hard. Ya must've had a concussion. Probably why ya ended up half dead in the creek. I'm gonna have to give ya a few stitches."  
Beth just nodded too tired to properly reply. He numbed her head the best he could and muttered an apology as she flinched at the needle he had to bore into her head. Once he finished he wrapped her head and quickly wrapped her ankle. When he looked up she was fast asleep. He felt awkward and didn't know what to do. Should he wake her up? Isn't bad for people with concussions to sleep? But she looked so peaceful so he decided to let her sleep. He lifted her feet onto the couch and grabbed the blanket off of his bed to tuck her in. They could figure everything out when she woke up.

***I hope you guys liked it and hope you guys take time to leave a review dear readers! I think I speak for all authors when I say that when I get a review it's just extra encouragement to keep writing! We love to hear what you guys think! Anyway thanks for reading! Until next time! XX***


End file.
